my 98 cobra has 43k miles on it. it has lived an easy life, except the previous owner did NOT change the oil very often, evidenced by the syrup-like oil i drained out of it.
now, there is a "noisy lifter" sound on the drivers side, cylinder 5. tapping just under the cam cover, goes away by 1100-1200 rpm or so....but it's there at idle.
i changed the oil 3 times in succession, nothing. then, tried a pint of Sea Foam. that helped a lot, cutting the noise in half.
so....is the noisy hydraulic tensioner dirty, perhaps clogged from the dirty oil? or, is it ruined, like a collapsed lifter on a 5.0, and in need of replacement?
i have no desire to worry about a valvetrain problem with a motor that revs to 7k.
thanks for your help in advance, as i am a complete DOHC novice.
now, there is a "noisy lifter" sound on the drivers side, cylinder 5. tapping just under the cam cover, goes away by 1100-1200 rpm or so....but it's there at idle.
i changed the oil 3 times in succession, nothing. then, tried a pint of Sea Foam. that helped a lot, cutting the noise in half.
so....is the noisy hydraulic tensioner dirty, perhaps clogged from the dirty oil? or, is it ruined, like a collapsed lifter on a 5.0, and in need of replacement?
i have no desire to worry about a valvetrain problem with a motor that revs to 7k.
thanks for your help in advance, as i am a complete DOHC novice.